1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a structure by which logs or chunks of wood are split.
2. Prior Art
A number of different types of log splitting devices have been proposed, and the two of them that appear to be the most pertinent, known to me, are those shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,670,789 and 4,141,395.
The wood splitting apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,789 involves a relatively rigid frame that supports a gasoline engine, which through a gear box, drives a threaded conical wedge for entering portions of logs that are of suitable lengths for combustion. During splitting, the chunk of wood is supported on the frame which arrangement prevents rotation of the log. The axis of the conical wedge best needs to be transverse to the axis of the log. The massive frame and the weight of the engine renders this device a bit massive, thus detracting from its portability. The gear box appears to provide an offset from the output shaft of the engine, but does not appear to alter the effective speed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,395 is also a bit massive in that employs two elongated screws for shifting a pusher there along, along with structure at the opposite ends of the screws to permit over-running by decoupling the nuts that engage the screws. This device has a substantial disadvantage in that once one log has been split, it becomes necessary for the operator to return to the cab of the vehicle and to shift the transmission of the vehicle into reverse to restore the pusher to the starting position. Then the log is loaded, and once more the operator must return to the cab to shift the transmission of the vehicle into a forward drive. Thus for each log or piece of wood split, one cycle of operation requires that the operator make two trips to the cab of the vehicle.